Many food storage containers include a container body covered by a removable lid. Generally, an air tight and/or leak-proof seal between the removable lid and the container body is preferred to maintain freshness of the food within the storage container. Some storage containers incorporate a wiper seal for this purpose. The wiper seal typically is disposed about a perimeter of the removable lid and pushes outwardly against an inner surface of a sidewall of the container body. While the wiper seal may be effective in providing an air tight seal, it does not provide a secure connection between the removable lid and the container body, which can be problematic if the storage container is turned sideways, upside down, or dropped. Furthermore, a wiper seal may build up air pressure inside the storage container as the removable lid is pushed onto the container body, which can make it cumbersome to properly seal the removable lid to the container body.
Another challenge with the wiper seals, and seals in general, is that steam released from the food inside the storage container during cooking or heating (e.g., microwave heating) can result in a significant rise in pressure inside the storage container, that is if the user chooses to keep the lid attached to the container body during cooking or heating to prevent splattering of the heat food. The steam build up can damage the storage container and potentially burn the hand of the user if the steam is released in a burst upon removal of the lid. While some existing storage containers incorporate one or more vents for releasing steam, these vents are typically unintuitive, and in some cases, do not allow continuous venting during cooking since they are biased to a closed position. Furthermore, existing vents typically require relatively complex sealing mechanisms, which may require both hands to operate because, for example, they require horizontal or lateral movement.
The present disclosure sets forth storage containers, and methods of their use, embodying advantageous alternatives to existing storage containers and methods, and that may address one or more of the challenges or needs mentioned above.